What does the bee in 'Bridgerton' mean for season 2?

'What does the bee in Bridgerton mean?' is something we have found ourselves wondering as the Bridgerton ending streamed out.

Just when we thought we couldn't get gripped to another Netflix period drama like we did with The Crown, we went and binge-watched all of Bridgerton season 1 and found ourselves wanting more yet again.

But the creators of the addictive Regency-era drama, an adaptation of the bestselling Julia Quinn romance novels, gave us a gracious hint that there is more to come after its first eight dreamy episodes came to an end, with the biggest hint that Bridgerton season 2 was indeed on its way. 

Here's what a buzzy little insect has to do with the whole thing. *Warning: spoilers ahead!*

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For those who are late to the Bridgerton party, a little recap of the season one ending will surely hook you into watching it from start to finish. In "After the End," we saw Daphne and Simon welcome their first child, and the identity of the mysterious Lady Whistledown was revealed. 

But our attention was drawn to the single buzzing bee on a windowsill in the show's final seconds—for which the camera seemed to intentionally fixate for longer—that has led us to believe the bee is a sign of what's yet to come for the Bridgerton cast...

What does the bee in 'Bridgerton' mean?

The bee cameo hints that the next chapter of the Netflix series will focus on The Viscount Who Loved Me novel. This second novel in the series focuses on the eldest brother Anthony Bridgerton and its prologue reveals that a bee sting killed the family patriarch Edmund Bridgerton at age 38.

As a result, Anthony, who was only 18 at the time of his father's death, believes that he too will die young and has a phobia of bees as a result. So, what's the connection to season two? Well, in the book, a bee forces him to marry Kate Sheffield (changed to Kate Sharma, played by Simone Ashley, for the screen), the woman who turns out to be his soul mate.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays the role of Anthony, has already confirmed the split between him and his character's opera-singer girlfriend Siena as "definite." 

“Out of the two characters, she’s the one who really grows and finds her strength to know herself and what she needs," Bailey told OprahMag.com. "I don’t think Anthony shows any sign of knowing what he needs and what he wants. He obviously loves her but has no ability to love her in the way that she would need in order to be happy. But we’ll have to wait and see. It’s Shondaland, you never know what’s around the corner." 

Bailey is confident his character will find love come season two: "There’s love for everyone in the world, even for Anthony. So fingers crossed," he added.

And since dating app Bumble wasn't around in the Regency era, it looks like the bee could be set to play matchmaker after all! See how it all unfolds when Bridgerton season 2 hits Netflix on Friday, March 25.